Daughter of Derbyshire man who took his own life urges people to discuss thoughts and feelings

The daughter of a much-loved Derbyshire man who sadly took his own life is urging people to discuss their thoughts and feelings with others.

Terence Neal, 77, of Cheetham Avenue, Unstone, died by suicide when he placed himself in front of a train at Dronfield railway station in April.

The late Terence Neal. Picture submitted by family.

During Mr Neal's inquest at Chesterfield coroners' court last month, his daughter Tricia Black said: "My father never made any mention of harming himself to anyone."

Now, Tricia has spoken to the Derbyshire Times in a bid to raise awareness about suicide prevention.

She said: "Recently there has been a great deal of talk about the phrase 'committed suicide'.

"I'm not worried about the semantics - I just want people to feel comfortable talking about suicide, its symptoms, its prevention and repercussions.

"Anything else is a waste of breath."

Tricia told how her father's passing was a 'surprise and shock to my whole family'.

She said: "Since my dad's death, I have researched the effects on others and the causes and the symptoms that friends and families can look out for.

"I did this in order to satisfy the unanswerable question 'why?'

"I have found that there are a number of risk factors which make people more likely to kill themselves.

"These are: having a diagnosed mental health condition, drug and alcohol misuse, a history of trauma or abuse, unemployment, social isolation, poverty, poor social conditions, imprisonment, violence and family breakdown.

"I do realise that some of these symptoms, as with my dad, are tricky to spot.